Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Muito obrigado!

The word obrigado literally means obliged. Because it describes the speaker, it must match your own gender. Men say obrigado and women say obrigada, no matter who they are talking to.

What is the literal translation of this phrase?

Muito means much or very. So, this phrase literally translates to much obliged.

If I am a woman and need to say obrigada, does muito change to muita?

No, it remains muito. When muito is used to mean very, it is an adverb and does not change its form to match gender. A female speaker will simply say Muito obrigada!

What if a group of people is saying thank you together?

Because obrigado acts like an adjective, it also changes for plurals. A group of men or a mixed-gender group would say Muito obrigados! and a group of women would say Muito obrigadas!